# 452 The Proverbs – ‘A manual for living’ (MSG). Proverbs 19 (1). Being kind to the poor.

Living in Pakistan for 11 years certainly had its challenges. One of these was how to handle the constant needs of the beggars and others living in poverty all around us. We actually knew some of these people and their needs were great, basically living hand to mouth and reliant on others to get them enough food and other necessities in order for them and their families to at least survive. Then there were those in the big cities who were exploited by unscrupulous people forcing them into begging, slavery, child labour and even stealing.

Maybe if I had known Proverbs 19:17 in those days it would have helped me in my responses to the poor. It says:

¹⁷ Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord,
    and he will reward them for what they have done.

An eye opening moment for one friend of mine (who was poor with health issues and a big family) was when he was, for the first time in his life, reading the Gospels in his own language and discovered something about Jesus that he never knew, and that was concerning his love and concern for the poor. Of course, this theme runs throughout the whole Bible.

So, one day my friend came to me and showed me some verses he had read and was really excited at the implications of this truth. It was in the Gospel of Matthew and was a quote from Isaiah 42:1-4, a prophesy about the coming Messiah. Matthew wrote:

¹⁵ But Jesus knew what they [the Pharisees] were planning. So he left that area, and many people followed him. He healed all the sick among them, ¹⁶ but he warned them not to reveal who he was. ¹⁷ This fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah concerning him:

¹⁸ “Look at my Servant, whom I have chosen.
    He is my Beloved, who pleases me.
I will put my Spirit upon him,
    and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
¹⁹ He will not fight or shout
    or raise his voice in public.
²⁰ He will not crush the weakest reed
    or put out a flickering candle.
    Finally he will cause justice to be victorious.
²¹ And his name will be the hope
    of all the world.”   (Matthew 12:15-21 NLT)

It was verse 20 that he was talking about as he said to me, “That’s me – a ‘weak reed’ and a ‘flickering candle’, and Jesus cares!”

Considering God’s attitude, here are other relevant verses in Proverbs concerning what our attitude to the poor should be:

Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God. (14:31)

Whoever mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker; whoever gloats over disaster will not go unpunished.  (17:5)

Whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor will also cry out and not be answered. (21:13)

The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor. (22:9)

Being poor is tough and according to the above we have a responsibility towards them, but sometimes improving one’s lot in life is difficult, particularly in some places where everything seems to favour the rich and powerful and where, as they say, ‘the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.’ But, the Bible teaches that even being poor can be an advantage when it comes to the highest priority of knowing God and living a life pleasing to him. Proverbs 19:1 says:

Better the poor whose walk is blameless than a fool whose lips are perverse.

And 28:6 says:

Better the poor whose walk is blameless than the rich whose ways are perverse.

Then the words of Jesus on the mount:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3)

Or as the NLT puts it:

“God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him,
    for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

Goldsworthy commenting on 19:1 says:

“The poor man who lives a life of integrity is far better off than the perverse man. The implication is that even if the latter is rich [28:6] he is in reality the loser.” (# 53).

But let me finish with an even greater truth, and that concerns Jesus and what he accomplished for rich and poor alike:

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9)

Have you discovered what it means to be “rich” in Christ?